HBO Max’s period drama “Spy/Master” is more John le Carré than Ian Fleming, state its creators. Following Victor Godeanu, a high-ranking officer in Romania’s secret service, advisor to president Nicolae Ceaușescu – and a spy – who decides to defect in 1978.
“As a child, I used to watch James Bond, which is a very cartoony version of espionage. It was something we really wanted to avoid. We wanted it to feel real,” says Kirsten Peters.
Adina Sădeanu adds: “John le Carré’s novels, for example ‘A Perfect Spy,’ are so complex. These characters run away from their own humanity. I have always wondered: How do they live? How do they wake up in the morning, after saying so many lies?”
For Sădeanu, her journalistic background – as well as Romanian roots – came in handy as well.
“Over the years, I met many people working in intelligence. They weren’t these ‘James Bond’ types,...
“As a child, I used to watch James Bond, which is a very cartoony version of espionage. It was something we really wanted to avoid. We wanted it to feel real,” says Kirsten Peters.
Adina Sădeanu adds: “John le Carré’s novels, for example ‘A Perfect Spy,’ are so complex. These characters run away from their own humanity. I have always wondered: How do they live? How do they wake up in the morning, after saying so many lies?”
For Sădeanu, her journalistic background – as well as Romanian roots – came in handy as well.
“Over the years, I met many people working in intelligence. They weren’t these ‘James Bond’ types,...
- 2/22/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner Ralph Fiennes’ hit London stage production Four Quartets is getting a screen version directed by his sister Sophie Fiennes (The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema).
WestEnd Films is launching international sales on the project at the upcoming Cannes market.
Early in the pandemic, No Time to Die, Harry Potter and Schindler’s List star Fiennes set himself the challenge of committing T.S. Eliot’s classic poem Four Quartets to memory. The result was an acclaimed stage version which ran to packed houses across England and at the Harold Pinter Theater in London.
Written by Eliot in the shadow of the Second World War, the ever-relevant poem is a searching examination of who – and what – we are.
The idea for the film, which is currently in post, was developed alongside the rehearsals for the stage production. Martin Rosenbaum (The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology), Shani Hinton (Grace...
WestEnd Films is launching international sales on the project at the upcoming Cannes market.
Early in the pandemic, No Time to Die, Harry Potter and Schindler’s List star Fiennes set himself the challenge of committing T.S. Eliot’s classic poem Four Quartets to memory. The result was an acclaimed stage version which ran to packed houses across England and at the Harold Pinter Theater in London.
Written by Eliot in the shadow of the Second World War, the ever-relevant poem is a searching examination of who – and what – we are.
The idea for the film, which is currently in post, was developed alongside the rehearsals for the stage production. Martin Rosenbaum (The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology), Shani Hinton (Grace...
- 5/6/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” and Philip Barantini’s “Boiling Point” lead nominations at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), with 11 nods each.
Nominations for “Belfast,” Branagh’s autobiographical tale of life as a young boy in Belfast in 1969 in the midst of the Troubles, include best actress for Caitríona Balfe, best supporting actress for Judi Dench, best supporting actor for Ciarán Hinds and a breakthrough performance nomination for newcomer Jude Hill in addition to seven craft nominations.
Nominations for single take film “Boiling Point,” which follows an up-and-coming chef under extreme pressure, include best actor for Stephen Graham, best supporting actor for Ray Panthaki, best supporting actress for Vinette Robinson and a breakthrough performance nomination for Lauryn Ajufo.
Aleem Khan’s “After Love,” Prano Bailey-Bond’s “Censor” and Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir Part II” have nine nominations each, while Clio Barnard’s “Ali & Ava” has seven nominations, Sean Durkin...
Nominations for “Belfast,” Branagh’s autobiographical tale of life as a young boy in Belfast in 1969 in the midst of the Troubles, include best actress for Caitríona Balfe, best supporting actress for Judi Dench, best supporting actor for Ciarán Hinds and a breakthrough performance nomination for newcomer Jude Hill in addition to seven craft nominations.
Nominations for single take film “Boiling Point,” which follows an up-and-coming chef under extreme pressure, include best actor for Stephen Graham, best supporting actor for Ray Panthaki, best supporting actress for Vinette Robinson and a breakthrough performance nomination for Lauryn Ajufo.
Aleem Khan’s “After Love,” Prano Bailey-Bond’s “Censor” and Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir Part II” have nine nominations each, while Clio Barnard’s “Ali & Ava” has seven nominations, Sean Durkin...
- 11/3/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Festival
Cary Joji Fukunaga’s long awaited Bond flick “No Time to Die,” the final instalment featuring long-time lead Daniel Craig, will close this year’s EnergaCamerimage International Film Festival, presented by Joji Fukunaga (“Beasts of No Nation”) himself and the film’s Oscar-winning cinematographer Lunus Sandgren (“La La Land”).
“This is the first time Cary Joji Fukunaga and Linus Sandgren collaborated on a film project, yet the result is just the kind of visual spectacle we hoped for given their artistic portfolios,” said the festival in a release accompanying the announcement.
This will be Joji Fukunaga’s first time attending EnergaCamerimage in person, although his film “Jane Eyre” and the “True Detective” pilot episode he directed both screened at the fest. Sandgren is becoming something of an EnergaCamerimage regular, having presented in person two films on which he worked, Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” and “First Man.”
“No Time to Die...
Cary Joji Fukunaga’s long awaited Bond flick “No Time to Die,” the final instalment featuring long-time lead Daniel Craig, will close this year’s EnergaCamerimage International Film Festival, presented by Joji Fukunaga (“Beasts of No Nation”) himself and the film’s Oscar-winning cinematographer Lunus Sandgren (“La La Land”).
“This is the first time Cary Joji Fukunaga and Linus Sandgren collaborated on a film project, yet the result is just the kind of visual spectacle we hoped for given their artistic portfolios,” said the festival in a release accompanying the announcement.
This will be Joji Fukunaga’s first time attending EnergaCamerimage in person, although his film “Jane Eyre” and the “True Detective” pilot episode he directed both screened at the fest. Sandgren is becoming something of an EnergaCamerimage regular, having presented in person two films on which he worked, Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” and “First Man.”
“No Time to Die...
- 10/29/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
10 films on the list for low-budget independent films.
Harri Shanahan and Sian A. Williams’ documentary Rebel Dykes and Ryan Andrew Hooper’s comedy-thriller The Toll are among the 10 titles longlisted for the Discovery award at the 2021 British Independent Film Awards (Bifas).
Six documentaries make the list, including Annika Ranin and Sean Fee’s Boarders, following a group of British skateboarders on their journey towards the sports Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020. Ranin and Jasmin Morrison are also on the longlist for breakthrough producer, announced as part of the new talent selection earlier this month.
Further documentaries include Celeste Bell and Paul Sng...
Harri Shanahan and Sian A. Williams’ documentary Rebel Dykes and Ryan Andrew Hooper’s comedy-thriller The Toll are among the 10 titles longlisted for the Discovery award at the 2021 British Independent Film Awards (Bifas).
Six documentaries make the list, including Annika Ranin and Sean Fee’s Boarders, following a group of British skateboarders on their journey towards the sports Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020. Ranin and Jasmin Morrison are also on the longlist for breakthrough producer, announced as part of the new talent selection earlier this month.
Further documentaries include Celeste Bell and Paul Sng...
- 10/29/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Variety Director to Watch Prano Bailey-Bond (“Censor”) and BAFTA-nominated “After Love” filmmaker Aleem Khan are among the 39 filmmakers longlisted in the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) new talent categories.
The 39 longlisted filmmakers will be invited to join BIFA’s Springboard scheme, a tailored program of professional development, peer-to-peer support, mentoring, networking and skills enhancement aimed to nurture emerging talent as they build on the success of their first features.
The final five nominations in each category will be announced on Nov. 3. Winners will be revealed at the ceremony on Dec. 5.
The longlists:
The Douglas Hickox Award
(Best Debut Director)
Aleem Khan – “After Love”
Matt Chambers – “The Bike Thief”
Prano Bailey-Bond – “Censor”
Jonathan Butterell – “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie”
Sonita Gale – “Hostile”
Jack Clough – “People Just Do Nothing: Big In Japan”
Reggie Yates – “Pirates”
Celeste Bell “Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché” [also Directed By Paul Sng]
Corinna Faith – “The Power”
Charlotte Colbert – “She Will...
The 39 longlisted filmmakers will be invited to join BIFA’s Springboard scheme, a tailored program of professional development, peer-to-peer support, mentoring, networking and skills enhancement aimed to nurture emerging talent as they build on the success of their first features.
The final five nominations in each category will be announced on Nov. 3. Winners will be revealed at the ceremony on Dec. 5.
The longlists:
The Douglas Hickox Award
(Best Debut Director)
Aleem Khan – “After Love”
Matt Chambers – “The Bike Thief”
Prano Bailey-Bond – “Censor”
Jonathan Butterell – “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie”
Sonita Gale – “Hostile”
Jack Clough – “People Just Do Nothing: Big In Japan”
Reggie Yates – “Pirates”
Celeste Bell “Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché” [also Directed By Paul Sng]
Corinna Faith – “The Power”
Charlotte Colbert – “She Will...
- 10/20/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
"Whatever you have to do... Do it for your family." Signature in the UK has released an official trailer for a British indie drama titled The Bike Thief, marking the feature debut of filmmaker Matt Chambers, who worked for years as a production assistant before finally directing this film. The Bike Thief is a "gritty British drama-thriller" that basically plays like a contemporary update on the classic Italian film Bicycle Thieves. The Rider is an ordinary, hard-working man. Everything he does is done to protect and support his family. He works as a delivery driver for a local Pizza restaurant, which happens to be owned & run by his landlord. When the Rider's moped is stolen, his world turns upside down and a race against time starts to recover the source of his livelihood. Starring Alec Secareanu (from God's Own Country) and Anamaria Marinca. I dig the look of this, two...
- 3/12/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Berlinale Competition entries from two actors turned directors, Maria Schrader and Daniel Brühl, were among titles on the Beta Cinema slate at the European Film Market to prove popular among international distributors.
Schrader, an Emmy Award winner as the director of “Unorthodox,” premiered comic-tragic tale “I’m Your Man,” starring Dan Stevens (“Downton Abbey”), Maren Eggert and Sandra Hueller (“Toni Erdmann”), at the virtual market, and Eggert won the festival’s Silver Bear for leading performance. Brühl made his directorial debut with dark comedy “Next Door,” a chamber piece in which he starred alongside “Babylon Berlin’s” Peter Kurth.
“I’m Your Man” is leading the way with a flurry of sales to France (Haut et Court), Italy (Koch Media), Spain, Portugal and Latin America (Sun Distribution), Scandinavia (Edge Entertainment), Benelux (September Film), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Cis and Baltics (Volgafilm), Poland (Monolith), Hungary (Cirko Film), Czech Republic/Slovakia (Film Europe), former Yugoslavia (Discovery...
Schrader, an Emmy Award winner as the director of “Unorthodox,” premiered comic-tragic tale “I’m Your Man,” starring Dan Stevens (“Downton Abbey”), Maren Eggert and Sandra Hueller (“Toni Erdmann”), at the virtual market, and Eggert won the festival’s Silver Bear for leading performance. Brühl made his directorial debut with dark comedy “Next Door,” a chamber piece in which he starred alongside “Babylon Berlin’s” Peter Kurth.
“I’m Your Man” is leading the way with a flurry of sales to France (Haut et Court), Italy (Koch Media), Spain, Portugal and Latin America (Sun Distribution), Scandinavia (Edge Entertainment), Benelux (September Film), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Cis and Baltics (Volgafilm), Poland (Monolith), Hungary (Cirko Film), Czech Republic/Slovakia (Film Europe), former Yugoslavia (Discovery...
- 3/11/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Sean Durkin’s drama stars Jude Law and Carrie Coon.
Picturehouse Entertainment has secured UK distribution rights to Sean Durkin’s The Nest from US outfit FilmNation Entertainment, strengthening its slate of upcoming awards buzz titles.
The romantic drama, starring Jude Law and Carrie Coon, debuted at Sundance and went on to pick up a hat-trick of awards at the Deauville Film Festival. Picturehouse plans to release in 2021 but has yet to set a date.
Durkin’s second feature, after Martha Marcy May Marlene in 2011, explores how life for an entrepreneur and his American family begins to take a twisted...
Picturehouse Entertainment has secured UK distribution rights to Sean Durkin’s The Nest from US outfit FilmNation Entertainment, strengthening its slate of upcoming awards buzz titles.
The romantic drama, starring Jude Law and Carrie Coon, debuted at Sundance and went on to pick up a hat-trick of awards at the Deauville Film Festival. Picturehouse plans to release in 2021 but has yet to set a date.
Durkin’s second feature, after Martha Marcy May Marlene in 2011, explores how life for an entrepreneur and his American family begins to take a twisted...
- 12/2/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The UK drama received its world premiere at Tokyo International Film Festival last month.
Signature Entertainment has secured UK and Ireland rights to Matt Chambers’ The Bike Thief, starring God’s Own Country actor Alec Secareanu, from Munich-based powerhouse Beta Cinema.
The UK drama received its world premiere at Tokyo International Film Festival last month and was being shopped by Beta at the virtual AFM. Signature had previously seen the film at a private screening in London and plan to release the feature in 2021.
The Bike Thief marks the feature directorial debut of Chambers and centres on a nameless pizza delivery...
Signature Entertainment has secured UK and Ireland rights to Matt Chambers’ The Bike Thief, starring God’s Own Country actor Alec Secareanu, from Munich-based powerhouse Beta Cinema.
The UK drama received its world premiere at Tokyo International Film Festival last month and was being shopped by Beta at the virtual AFM. Signature had previously seen the film at a private screening in London and plan to release the feature in 2021.
The Bike Thief marks the feature directorial debut of Chambers and centres on a nameless pizza delivery...
- 12/2/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Exploring wide-ranging global themes, from poverty, migration, political strife and fascism to art and romance, German sales companies are presenting an eclectic offering of local and international cinematic works at this year’s AFM.
Social dramas and political thrillers reflect both the current zeitgeist and historical parallels of similarly troubled times.
In Marcus Lenz’s “Rival,” a 9-year-old Ukrainian boy travels to Germany to be with his mother, who has been forced to leave her country to work as an undocumented caretaker for an old man.
Producers Gunter Hanfgarn and Andrea Ufer of Berlin-based Hanfgarn & Ufer say they were intrigued by Lenz’s story from the start, noting that it is “set against the backdrop of two problems we see in a lot of Western countries — the nursing crisis and poverty emigration.” Sold internationally by Pluto Film, “Rival” is screening at AFM following its world premiere at this year’s Busan Film Festival.
Social dramas and political thrillers reflect both the current zeitgeist and historical parallels of similarly troubled times.
In Marcus Lenz’s “Rival,” a 9-year-old Ukrainian boy travels to Germany to be with his mother, who has been forced to leave her country to work as an undocumented caretaker for an old man.
Producers Gunter Hanfgarn and Andrea Ufer of Berlin-based Hanfgarn & Ufer say they were intrigued by Lenz’s story from the start, noting that it is “set against the backdrop of two problems we see in a lot of Western countries — the nursing crisis and poverty emigration.” Sold internationally by Pluto Film, “Rival” is screening at AFM following its world premiere at this year’s Busan Film Festival.
- 11/9/2020
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: UK production company Ugly Duckling Films, whose features include 2013 sci-fi Coherence and Lena Headey-starrer The Broken, is in development on its first TV project: crime series We Are Your Children based on San Francisco’s ‘Doodler’ serial killer.
The series, about the 1970’s killer who targeted San Francisco’s gay community, is being scripted by emerging Brit writer Ryan Brown. The murderer became known as the ‘Doodler’ from the elaborate drawings of his victims that he’d leave behind at the scenes of his crimes. At the time, two of his victims survived and identified a man, but refused to testify in court and the man was never charged.
Inspired by these events, the series will see a female cop unite with a gay rights activist and drag queen after the targeted homosexual killings disrupts the city. Ingenious Media arranged early development funding on the project.
Until recently,...
The series, about the 1970’s killer who targeted San Francisco’s gay community, is being scripted by emerging Brit writer Ryan Brown. The murderer became known as the ‘Doodler’ from the elaborate drawings of his victims that he’d leave behind at the scenes of his crimes. At the time, two of his victims survived and identified a man, but refused to testify in court and the man was never charged.
Inspired by these events, the series will see a female cop unite with a gay rights activist and drag queen after the targeted homosexual killings disrupts the city. Ingenious Media arranged early development funding on the project.
Until recently,...
- 2/19/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
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